1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector having a fixing device which secures the connector to a panel of an electrical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors are often used to connect peripheral devices, such as Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), to electrical devices such as a desktop computer and a notebook computer. A conventional USB connector is shown in FIG. 7 of the attached drawings, comprising a first shell 101, a second shell 103, an insulative housing 102 enclosed by the first shell 101, and a plurality of conductive contacts 104 retained in the insulative housing 102. The insulative housing 102 comprises a base section 1021, a pair of mating sections 1022 extending from the base section 1021 and a protrusion 1023 formed between the mating section 1022.
However, the connector shown in FIG. 7 is not securely fixed, when a mating connector is inserted into the connector, an insertion force induced by the mating connector and acting upon the connector may cause undesired movement of the connector, resulting in poor mating between the two connectors. Such an undesired movement of the connector may even break the electrical connection between the connector and the PCB on which the connector is mounted. Hence, it is desired to improve the electrical connector in order to overcome the disadvantages thereof.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which can be firmly fixed to a panel of an electrical device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fixing device of an electrical connector which can firmly fix the connector to a panel of an electrical device.
To achieve the above objects, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention that can be fixed to a panel of an electrical device comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of conductive contacts, a shielding device and a metal pad. The insulative housing comprises a base section, two mating sections extending from the base section and a protrusion between the mating sections. Each mating section defines passageways for receiving the contacts. The protrusion has a front face with a locating hole formed therein. The shielding device comprises two front shells respectively surrounding the mating sections, and a rear shell enclosing the base section and engages the front shells. Each front shell forms a tab with a hole defined therein. The metal pad comprises a front plate overlapping the front face of the protrusion, a body section extending from the front plate and received in the locating hole with an inner-threaded hole defined therein. A bolt extends through a through hole defined in a panel of the electrical device and the holes of the tabs of the front shells in sequence and then engages with the inner-threaded hole of the insulative housing thereby securing the electrical connector to the panel of the electrical device.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: